AES buys two European wind power companies

Arlington-based AES Corp.’s AES Wind Generation division had made two acquisitions expanding its wind power generation business in Europe.

The company has acquired U.K.-based wind power company Your Energy Ltd. and acquired a 51 percent stake in Polish wind developer 3E. AES did not disclose financial terms of either acquisition.

It is AES’s first project in Poland.

The two acquisitions will add 700 megawatts of wind power capacity to AES’s European projects, including projects that will get underway next year. AES will invest $400 million in the new holdings over the next five years.

AES has brought three wind projects in Europe into operation this year in France, Scotland and Bulgaria.

AES is expanding its European footprint as demand for renewable energy there is expected to grow. Under a 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive, both the U.K. and Poland must meet 15 percent of their energy consumption through renewable energy by 2020.

AES (NYSE: AES) owns or holds stakes in power generation operations in 29 counties. It is aggressively pursuing alternative energy with both wind and solar projects domestically and abroad.